Car-brake



(No Model.) I E. W. LIPPINGOTT', s Sheets-Sheet 1.

GAR BRAKE.

No. 280,640. Patented July 3, .1883

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E. w. LIPPINGOTT.

V GAR BRAKE. No. 280,640. Patented July 3, 1883.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

E. W. LIP-PINGOTT. GAR BRAKE.

No. 280,640. Patented July 3, 1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Gracia.

EBENEZER W. YLIPPINCOTT, OF GRAFTON, VEST VIRGINIA.

- CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,640, dated July 3,1883.

Application iiledMay 17,1883. (NomodeL) T aZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, EBENEZER W. LIPPIN- corr, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Grafton, in the State of West Virginia, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Car- Brakes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to car-brakes, and es pecially to that class ofbraking mechanism which is employed upon coalcars in which the body ofeach car is divided into three compartments having a discharging orunloading gate in the bottom of each. These cars being ordinarilymounted upon four pairs of wheels, two axles being placed near each endof the car, difficulty has been experienced in applying brakingmechanism to any excepting the end wheels, since the brake-beams andconnecting-rods interfere with the operation of the gates and obstructthe discharge of the coal from the car.

It is the obj eet of my invention to provide a simple and effectivemechanism which may be applied to this class of cars and used upon eachpair of wheels, the brake-connections being wholly removed from beneaththe gates, and the transverse brake-beams being dispensed with,excepting at the extreme ends of the car, where they present noobstruction. It is also proposed to combine with mechanism of thischaracter devices for equalizing the action of the several brake-shoesupon both sides of the car, whereby the brakes may be set with equalforce upon the wheels on opposite sides.

To this end, therefore, my invention consists in suspending the brakesfrom the side of the car, with a brake-lever attached to each end andextending from one outer side support diagonally downward and inward,the connection being carried from its lower end to the actuatinglever,whereby the transverse brake-beams may be dispensed with and theconnections arranged beneath the sides'of the car.

It further consists in the combination, with independent brakessuspended centrally from each side of the car, of a pair of brake-leversbetween each side pair of brakes, said levers be ing linked together attheir upper extremities, and having their lower ends connected to alever-arm upon a transverse brake-beam at the end of the car, which maybe turned by an actuating-arm or other suitable means.

It further consists in the combination, with the brake-connections, ofdevices mounted upon or connected with the transverse brakebeam at theend of the car, whereby the set of the brakes may be automaticallyequalized throughout the whole number of brakes used upon each car,whereby the power is applied at the greatest advantage, and undue strainupon any single point, together with the unequal wear of the mechanism,is prevented.

My invention also consists in the several novel features of constructionand the combinations of parts hereinafter described, and

pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car,illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bottom of thecar shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view, partly in section and partly inelevation, of'one side of a car provided with a brake and itsactuating-lever. Fig. 4: is an elevation showing the arrangement of twopair of brakes with their operating devices. 5 is a plan view, showingthe bottom of the car illustrated in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side ele vationof a car, taken from between the wheels, showing a modified arrangementfor applying brakes to three pair of wheels only, together 80 with amodification of the equalizing apparatus. Fig. 7 is a plan view of Fig.6, the body of the car being removed.

A in said drawings indicates the body of the car, which is in allessential respects of 85 receive and support the spring-boxes upon 0 thesides of the car.

Gates D are placed in the bottom of the car, between the axles, for thedischarge of the coal, said gates opening downward in the usual manner.

E indicates the brake-shoe, which may be 5 of any desired form, havinglugs or eyes a, to which a suspending-link, b, is connected. This linkis attached to a plate, F, bolted to the side beam of the car, andhaving an inwardlyprojecting portion provided with lugs, to which 1 ooFig. 2 is a detail view.

Fig.

the link I) is secured by a pin, thereby holding the brakeshoe in frontof the tread of the wheel. The plate F is provided with astrengthening-web, c, to enable it to resist the strain to which theparts are subjected.

Upon the outer border of the plate F are formed lugs 67, between whichis pivoted the upper extremity of a lever, G, which is bent just belowthe point of attachment and directed inward and downward, as shown inFig.

3, crossing the suspended brake E, to which it is connected by lugs cupon its back, the lower end of said lever being carried inward anddownward to a point below the plane of the axles C, and having an eye toreceive the brake connection or rod H. The latter extends beneath theaxles and parallel with the sides of the car toward the end, where it isconnected to an arm, g, upon a transverse beam, I, which connects thebrakes E, arranged beneath the extreme end of the car. This bar is journaled at its ends in loops or bearings 71, formed upon the backs ofthe brakes E, and has an arm, K, the end of which is connected by achain with the barrel of a windlass or other suitable device. By theillustration in Fig. r it will be seen that when the mechanism isoperated, the brakes will set toward each other.

The apparatus as shown in the figure last mentioned brakes two pairs ofwheels only, and while it may be duplicated for the other pair andoperated from both ends of the car, it may also be so arranged thatthree pair or all four pair of wheels may be braked from one of the carsonly. The latter arrangement is illustrated in'Fig. 1, and will be firstdescribed.

The end brakes, E, which are arranged beneath the extreme ends of thecar, are connected with each other by a transverse beam, I, which mayalso carry the actuating levers or arms K K and g, as already described,the beam I, which connects the other end pair, be ing used to supportthe equalizing devices, presently to be described. The brakes which actupon the four wheels between the end wheels are suspended by links I)bin such manner that the brakes upon the same side shall hang betweenthe wheels and act upon them in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 1.These brakes are each set by levers G G, connected to each by a pinwhich passes through two lugs, i 1', placed side by side upon the backof the brake, but arranged diagonally to correspond with the position ofthe lever which is set between them. The levers G Gnpon the same side ofthe car have their upper extremities coupled together by means of alink,L, having its ends forked. They are not, however, connected with the carin the manner shown in Fig. 3, and already described, but are supportedin placeby the links b, their ex tremities being confined againstlateral displacement by a plate, M, having two diverging strips, m on,as shown in detail in Fig. 2. Said plate is bolted to the side of thecar, and is of such dimensions that the diverging portions extend overthe coupled ends 01' the levers G, and between which they may have sn1'- ficient longitudinal but no lateral play.

The brake-rods H run from the arms 11 upon the actuating brake-beams I.to the two levers G G upon opposite sides of the car and nearest to thebeam I. Similar rods or connections run from the lower extremities ofthe other pair of levers, G G, to the brake beam I, which is at theopposite end of the car, being merely suspended therefrom. Upon thisbeam are mounted sheaves or equivalent devices, a a, arranged in linewith each of the side connections or rods, I-I. Around these sheaves ispassed a chain connected to said brake-rods or, if preferred, two shortsec tions of chain, N N, may be employed, with a short transverse link,H, between them, as an intermediate connection. The purpose of thedevices last described is to equalize the action of the brakesrelatively to each other, the operation being as follows:

\Vhen the brake-Windlass at the end of the car is operated. and the armK drawn upward, the arms g y will at once act upon the first pair oflovers, G G, drawing their lower extremities toward the beam I, andsetting the brakes with which said levers are connected, as well asthose mounted 011 the beam I. At this moment the said levers G G, bymeans of the links L, throw the upper ends of the remaining pairoflevcrs, G 1 toward the beam 1, thereby tightening the brake rods orconnections which connect the lower ends of said levers with said beam,and thus setting all four of the brakes upon that end of the car. Nowif, as not unfrequently happens, one or more of the brakes upon the sameside of the car should, from any cause, set before the others, it willbe seen that the whole power of the brake will be applied at that point,and there will be danger not only of rapidly dc stroying the part byexcessive wear, but that some of the connections will give way under theexcessive strain. By the simple arrangement shown in Fig. 2, or by themodification thereof shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the connections willautomatically adjust themselves, un der the tension of the brakingmechanism, so as to produce a perfect equalization of pressure upon eachside.

In Figs. 6 and 7 an arrangement is shown for using brakes upon threepairs of wheels. In such case I arrange and operate the apparatus uponthe end pair of wheels in the same manner already described inconnection with Figs. 3 and 4. Brakes may be applied to either pair ofthe remaining wheels, and are operated by levers G G, arranged in themanner already described. The brake-rods H are carried from the lowerends of both pairs of levers G to the equalizing-arms I I, which areconnected with arms g 9 upon the beam I. Instead of the arms P I, I maysubstitute sheaves and connect the brake-rods by a chain passing oversaid sheave.

By the construction and arrangement of dispense with the transversebrake-beams, ex-

cept at one or both ends of the car, where they form no obstruction tothe unloading of the contents. Moreover, the entire system ofbrakeconnections is brought from beneath the body of the car and placedat the side, leaving almost the entire space under floor clear, andrendering the apparatus far more simple and effective, as well as muchcheaper, than the mechanism hitherto in use. The con sideration ofeconomy alone in this class of cars is of importance, as they are builtwholly with an eye to strength, durability, and cheapness.

I11 the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the ends of the brake-leversG and G may be provided with two or more perforations, 1), adapted toengage with the connecting-link L, so that the lever may be dropped orraised by setting the pin in one or the other of said openings. The linkalso may have more than one perforation in each of its forked ends,whereby the upper extremities of the levers G G may be adjusted towardand from each other, thus taking up any slack in the connections orcompensating for any inequality in the interval between the wheels uponop posite sides. I

The brakes hereinbefore described may be applied to freight-cars andpassenger-cars of every description, as well as to coal-ears. Whenapplied to freight or passenger cars, the brake-lever is pivotedhorizontally to a support beneath the car, instead of being suspendedfrom the side in the manner shown in the drawings. In other respects theconstruction and operation of the parts do not substan tially differfrom that of the brake mechanism rotating shaft connecting twobrake-shoes, and

provided with two arms, one connected with the brake-rod and the otherfor connecting with mechanism for rotating the shaft, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a car-brake, the combination of a pair of disconnected brake-shoessuspended from opposite sides of the car by pivotedlinks,withindependent brake-levers connected at their upper ends with the sides ofthe car, and extending diagonally inward and downward across the back ofthe brake-shoes with which they are connected, brake-rods arranged alongthe sides of the car and connected with the lower ends of thebrake-levers, and a rotating shaft connecting apair of brakes, andprovided with two projecting arms connected with the brake-rods, andanother arm for connecting with mechanism to rotate the said shaft,substantially as described.

3. In a car-brake, the combination of two pairs of brake-shoes suspendedfrom the sides of the car adjacent to each other between two pairs ofthe truck-wheels, with two pairs of brake-levers, each pair connectedwith the side of the car between said two pairs of truckwheels andextending across the brakeshoes, two plates pivotally coupling togetherthe upper ends of the respective pairs of brake levers, and brake-rodsarranged inside the carwheels parallel to the sides of the car, andconnected, respectively, with the inner ends of the brake-levers,substantially as described.

4. The combination, with three pairs of brakes, each pair suspended fromone side of the car and disconnected from the opposite pair, of leverscoupled at their upper ends, connected with said brakes, and havingbrakerods passing from opposite levers toward opposite ends of the car,a rotating beam carrying end brakes at one end, and a rigid beamcarrying brakes at the opposite end, and sheaves carried by the latterbeam, with a chain passing around them and connecting the ends of thebrake-rods, substantially as de scribed.

5. The combination, with the brake-levers coupled in pairs upon oppositesides of the car,-of a plate bolted to the-side beam and havinglongitudinal diverging strips, between which the extremities of thelinked levers have play, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a coal-car having a discharge-gate in itsfloor, of a brake-shoe suspended by a link from the car-side, a'leverpivoted in lugs to the side beam, and extending diagonallydownwardthrough lugs in the brake to which it is pivoted, a rotatingbeam arranged beneath the end of the car and can rying brakes for theend pair of wheels, and arms projecting from said beam and connectedwith the brake rods and levers, and an actuating arm connected with thebrakeavindlass, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

E. \V. LIPPINOOTT.

